How Burj Khalifa residents will watch the fireworks

Dubai So what’s it like to be a privileged resident of the Burj Khalifa on New Year’s Eve when thousands of visitors brave long commutes and traffic snarls just to be at the tower to catch the most spectacular fireworks on earth?

Image Credit: XPRESS/Virendra Saklani NO WORRIES: Manju Chadrashekar (left) with his family in his 66th floor Burj Khalifa apartment. They won’t have to fight the crowds on the big night

“The only privilege if you will is that you don’t have to fight the crowds,” said Manju Chandrasekhar, a resident of a two-bedroom 66th floor apartment.

Standing by the window of his dining room, he is inches away from the pyrotechnic spectacle that is set to envelope the world’s tallest tower as 2013 ushers in. “You see that big metal rig just outside? That’s where they mount the actual fireworks.”

But to take in the full view of the dazzle, he plans to go down the building with his family when the countdown begins.

“My parents have flown in from India and my sister, brother-in-law and nephew from the US,” he said.

On the 71st floor, resident Buffi Jashanmal has other plans. She is hosting a big bash for the special night and will watch the fireworks from her own apartment. More info